A common type of lottery game ticket is known as a “scratch-off” ticket wherein one or more game plays are printed onto a front surface of a card stock. The player scratches off an opaque layer in a game play area of the ticket to reveal underlying indicia that dictates whether or not the ticket is a winner. Such game tickets are also referred to as “scratch-off” tickets.
Various efforts have been made in the industry to combine multiple scratch-off games on a single ticket or within a ticket assembly. For example, scratch-off lottery tickets are known wherein one or more games are provided on a front surface of the ticket and a separate game is provided on a back surface of the ticket, such as the ticket construction and method disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 7,712,741
Attempts have also been made in the industry to bundle or combine multiple instant-win tickets into a single package that is sold to the player. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 6,145,885 describes a lottery ticket construction wherein the rear surface of a first continuous substrate in strip form is adhered to the rear surface of a second continuous substrate in strip form to form a row of connected tickets with a line of weakness between each ticket. Game play indicia for each ticket is printed onto the rear surface of the first strip and is accessible via pull-tab windows defined in the second strip. The combined strips are fan-folded along the lines of weakness.
In a different multi-game ticket configuration, a plurality of individual tickets are joined at an edge to form a “book” of tickets. For example, the Iowa State Lottery offers a “Game Book” containing six separate pages with eight separate scratch-off games for a $20 purchase price.
U.S. Pat. No. 10,166,462 describes a lottery ticket having a first game play area printed on a front surface of the ticket substrate and a second game play area printed on the back surface of the ticket, with each of the first and second game play areas containing game play symbols and a scratch-off material covering at least a part of each game play area which can be removed by the player for playing of the game by the player. The first game play area is arranged relative to the game play information to allow playing by the player of the game symbols on the first play area. The ticket substrate is arranged to provide movement of the second game play area relative to the game play information to allow playing by the player of the game symbols on the second play area. The second game play area is moved by folding of the ticket substrate, or by removing one piece of the ticket from another and to juxtapose the two pieces in a different arrangement.
The types of multi-game or multi-ticket constructions discussed above involve the handling and processing of multiple substrates or the printing of game play areas and scratch-off coatings on both sides of the ticket, which can be complicated and expensive.
Therefore, it is highly desirable to develop multi-game ticket configuration that appeals to consumers, uses the “real estate” on both sides of the ticket substrate, and is cost effective to produce from a single substrate.